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Residents of Greater Yei in Central Equatoria State who have waited years for nationality documents have received a major boost following the arrival of more than 4,000 nationality cards and 17 passports.

The Acting Director of the Civil Registry, Nationality and Passport Department in Yei River County, Captain Philip Kual, confirmed the arrival of the documents during an interview at the department’s headquarters in Yei.

Captain Kual said the documents belong to applicants who submitted their applications between 2022 and this year. He noted that most of the backlog has now been cleared and the documents are ready for collection.

He also outlined the requirements for new applicants, saying those seeking nationality certificates must first obtain an age assessment, a blood group card and a witness.

He added that applicants without witnesses can use the nationality card of their area chief or local leader to complete the process.

Applicants such as Franko Dinya and Grace Tabu described the arrival of the documents as a relief after waiting several years. They appealed to the department to maintain faster processing for those whose applications are still pending.

The Civil Registry Department has advised applicants not to collect their documents until the official launch of the distribution exercise, expected on Thursday or Friday. It says further details on the collection process will be announced during the launch.